HARNAMSINGH Vs. VIJAYSINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS second appeal arises from the judgment dated 19 -7 -96 in Civil Appeal No. 26A/96 passed by the IV Addl. Distt. Judge Bhind reversing the judgment and decree of Civil Judge Class -I, Mehgaon in C.S. No. 268A/84 decided on 2 -1 -85.

(2.) THIS relates to a century old user of the disputed land by villagers as cremation ground and thrashing ground (Khalihan). The appellate court had reversed the judgment and decree of the trial court and the decree of the trial court was in favour of the plaintiff for declaration of rights of the user of the land of survey No. 59 of village Sunarpura, district Bhind for cremation of his dead family members and similarly using survey No. 58 as khalihan (crop thrashing ground). An injunction was also granted against the defendants not to interfere with these respondents from use of the respective survey numbers.

(3.) IT will be appropriate to note in brief the pleadings of the parties. The short history of the case is that the appellants/plaintiffs had filed this suit, purporting to be filed in a representative capacity, on behalf of the village people with permission to sue in a representative capacity under Order 1 Rule 8 C.P.C. The claim was that the land of survey No. 59 had been used as cremation ground for about 100 years by all the villagers including the plaintiffs. The land of survey No. 58 was urged to be common khalihan of the village to be used as such. It was urged to be common property before coming into force of Madhya Bharat Zamindari Abolition Act, Samvat 2008 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). After coming into force of the Act, the land vested in the State Govt. Earlier it was the land belonging to Shyamlati Thok Nawabsingh and defendants never possessed this land nor have any exclusive rights nor cultivated it when the Act came into force.